Have you ever heard of wrap around services?
The strategy has been around for a while, and we actually incorporate it here at Vantage Point Recovery, but it’s become more popular over the past few years so we thought we would share a little more information.
Imagine this …
Right after completion of a treatment program, you feel on top of the world. You feel confident, refreshed and like you can conquer any obstacle. You have been given the tools you need to avoid a mental health relapse.
Why would you need more treatment?
Great question.
Post-treatment services, or wrap around services, can further your growth in recovery. They can assist you in meeting all your needs once you are discharged from treatment.
When you are in treatment, you are protected. You are in a safe environment where everyone is on your side. When you complete treatment, even out-patient treatment, you are on your own.
While you feel confident you can remain free of mental health issues by keeping yourself on track, life can often throw you a curveball. Over time, these curve balls make it more and more difficult to maintain recovery.
Curve balls may come in the form of a death in the family, a divorce, a car crash or any other event that is life altering. Life events, when few, are easily handled. But when they happen in multiples, it becomes overwhelming.
Eventually, it becomes easier to fall back into old patterns that lead to mental health relapses. Wrap around resources are established to prevent this from happening.
Wrap Around Explained
For every area of your life, there is support. If you have financial problems, there is a financial counselor or coach waiting to help you. If you have an addiction, there are addiction resources available. If you have family issues, there are marriage and family therapists who can treat you and your family.
Wrap around resources are your own personal network of support. It is a system that is tied together through your recovery.
Each support service has agreed to work together to make sure all your needs are being met once you complete treatment and re-enter the “real world”.
Wrap around services are created to include your needs relating to your culture, your family, disabilities, education, transportation, career, medications and any other areas that may affect your recovery.
While there are many areas of assistance in which wrap around resources prove to be of great benefit, there are some that standout more than others. These include employment, mental health support, family and medication management.
Vocational Services
One of the best deterrents of a mental health relapse is finding meaningful work. A job is a great distraction but once you become bored with the job, you can fall back into negative thoughts and actions.
Finding a career that fulfills internal needs and desires will help you remain successful for a long time.
With wrap around services, you can meet with a vocational counselor. This counselor can offer you access to job training, career assessment tools, resume writing assistance and help with obtaining additional education if needed.
Vocational services can act as a mentor for you as you transition back into a regular routine.
Mental Health Support
Gaining support in mental health does not necessarily mean you must continue with traditional counseling. There are various avenues that can lead to the right amount of support to help you avoid a relapse.
Support groups are a terrific way to maintain stability. Support groups offer peer understanding and feedback. You are held accountable by other members, educated on new happenings in the field of mental health, and given the chance to help others.
It has been reported that when a person can give back and help others, they are likely to continue to grow in recovery. The right support group can offer many chances to give back.
You also need to maintain contact with treatment providers who assisted in your mental health recovery. Follow-up appointments with your counselor give you something to look forward to. It is here you can express your needs and brag about your progress.
Family Help
Just because you are healing and doing great, doesn’t mean your family is on the same path.
Family members can often create more problems for you in recovery, even when they don’t mean to do so. Some family members are dealing with their own illnesses, some are not dealing with their illnesses. The environment in which your family lives can have a direct impact on your mental health.
If their environment is negative, you need to take steps to ensure your protection. Your family needs to know how they can help you remain healthy. This may mean they obtain treatment and healing for themselves.
Family therapy is a great resource when you enter post-treatment. There are marriage and family therapists who specialize in treating the whole family. This means they can meet individually and as a group to resolve issues within your family.
Family therapy can assist the entire group in getting help where needed, whether for addiction or mental health issues. The therapist also offers a neutral middle ground on which each family member can speak and be heard.
Medication Management
Many post-treatment plans include medication. You may have been discharged from treatment but are prescribed medication for anxiety, depression or another mental illness. It is of utmost importance you continue your medication plans.
It is up to you to make sure you attend all medication management appointments. Often, case workers are assigned to you as a part of your wrap around resources plan. Case workers can help you get transportation to and from your doctor appointments.
Without this support, a missed appointment can lead to unfilled prescriptions and a lapse in taking medications. This lapse in medication can set you on a course for relapse.
Medications regulate brain chemicals that help you remain healthy. The support you receive in this area can be the difference between recovery and relapse.
Personal growth continues after treatment. Each day you will be presented with rewards and obstacles. You will face successes and failures. With wrap around services, you are given ammunition to help you cope with any failures and overcome obstacles. They can also help you properly handle your successes.
Having your own special team, your own support system, is one of the best ways to transition back into your life and continue to grow personally. Work with your counselor to establish the right wrap around resources for your recovery.